Acetabular pneumatocyst containing air-fluid level.

Abstract

The presence of intraosseous gas most commonly occurs in osteomyelitis, vacuum phenomenon, and postsurgery or posttraumatic states. Several cases of subchondral gas-filled lesions, called pneumatocysts, have also been described in the sacroiliac joint and clavicle, none of them with intralesional air-fluid level. These pneumatocysts are innocuous lesions of uncertain origin. We describe one case of acetabular pneumatocyst containing air-fluid level in a 62-year-old man with long-standing ankylosing spondylitis involving hip joint. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a pneumatocyst in an acetabular location containing air-fluid level.